Loophole-free Bell inequality violation with superconducting circuits.

Superposition, entanglement and non-locality constitute fundamental features of quantum physics. The fact that quantum physics does not follow the principle of local causality1-3 can be experimentally demonstrated in Bell tests4 performed on pairs of spatially separated, entangled quantum systems. Although Bell tests, which are widely regarded as a litmus test of quantum physics, have been explored using a broad range of quantum systems over the past 50 years, only relatively recently have experiments free of so-called loopholes5 succeeded. Such experiments have been performed with spins in nitrogen-vacancy centres6, optical photons7-9 and neutral atoms10. Here we demonstrate a loophole-free violation of Bell's inequality with superconducting circuits, which are a prime contender for realizing quantum computing technology11. To evaluate a Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt-type Bell inequality4, we deterministically entangle a pair of qubits12 and perform fast and high-fidelity measurements13 along randomly chosen bases on the qubits connected through a cryogenic link14 spanning a distance of 30 metres. Evaluating more than 1 million experimental trials, we find an average S value of 2.0747 ± 0.0033, violating Bell's inequality with a P value smaller than 10-108. Our work demonstrates that non-locality is a viable new resource in quantum information technology realized with superconducting circuits with potential applications in quantum communication, quantum computing and fundamental physics15.

Implementation of Conditional Phase Gates Based on Tunable ZZ Interactions.

High fidelity two-qubit gates exhibiting low cross talk are essential building blocks for gate-based quantum information processing. In superconducting circuits, two-qubit gates are typically based either on rf-controlled interactions or on the in situ tunability of qubit frequencies. Here, we present an alternative approach using a tunable cross-Kerr-type ZZ interaction between two qubits, which we realize with a flux-tunable coupler element. We control the ZZ-coupling rate over 3 orders of magnitude to perform a rapid (38 ns), high-contrast, low leakage (0.14±0.24%) conditional phase CZ gate with a fidelity of 97.9±0.7% as measured in interleaved randomized benchmarking without relying on the resonant interaction with a noncomputational state. Furthermore, by exploiting the direct nature of the ZZ coupling, we easily access the entire conditional phase gate family by adjusting only a single control parameter.